


a better heart

by trashyeggroll



Series: Fictober 2019 [5]
Category: Black Lightning (TV)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Reimagining their season three reunion, Requests, Tumblr Prompt, thundergrace - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 01:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21235961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashyeggroll/pseuds/trashyeggroll
Summary: Anissa finds Grace, but like with seemingly everything in her life lately, the reunion doesn’t go exactly to plan. (A proposed alternate reunion for ThunderGrace)





	a better heart

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober Prompt #30: “I’m with you. You know that.”
> 
> Title from **If You Think It's Love** by King Princess:  
_if this is love,_  
_I want my money back_  
_'cause I could use the check_  
_to spend it on a better heart_  
_to wear upon my sleeve_  

> 
> I was a little underwhelmed by 3x03's "bus stop" reunion, but I'm so glad ThunderGrace is back in action.

While the widespread poverty in Freeland, Georgia, benefits the ASA in being able to carry out their experiments on those who had no voice or power to fight back, it also causes problems with their occupation of the city. Abandoned buildings are commonplace, especially in the now-defunct factory district and quiet shipyards. The former is where Anissa had spotted a leopard on live CCTV at the Sanctum, and over Gambi’s protests, she’d donned her Blackbird suit and headed into the night. It’d only taken her a few minutes to arrive in the district, sliding through shadows along old brick buildings, but as she sweeps the area with her thermal goggles, Anissa can’t find evidence of the big cat. 

“Anything?” Jen’s voice crackles in her ear. Her sister hadn’t tried to stop her from this mission, but they’d briefly argued about whether she should be there or not. As a compromise, Lightning posted herself on the roof of a building only a couple seconds’ flight away. 

“I think you’ll know pretty quick if I find something,” Anissa whispers back, and her adrenaline’s running so high that she can’t keep a note of annoyance out of her tone. She hears Jen scoff, accepts that she deserves that, and focuses back on the task at hand: finding Grace Choi. For too long, she’s caught glimpses and shadows of her mysterious ex, but tonight, when the stars aligned and Anissa happened to be watching the right hacked feed at the right time, she had no choice but to try. No matter how much it hurt that Grace disappeared without a single word to let Anissa know she was okay. Alive, at the very least. 

Anissa stops on the next step, freezing as her goggles pick up a heat signature. The form takes a couple seconds to settle, yellows and oranges and reds in a sea of green-blue, but there’s no mistaking the feline shape when a tail flicks behind it. The leopard is crouched behind a large dumpster, but Anissa can’t tell if Grace is just laying low, or if she heard Blackbird coming.

She’s just about to call Grace’s name, only a few dozen yards from  _ finally _ being face to face with her again, but then Gambi’s deep voice rumbles through her ear: “Picking up movement on the security cameras. Five o’clock.”

Reflexively falling against the wall, flat, Anissa tears her view away from Grace’s heat signature to peer through the grainy darkness. Before long, an ASA patrol drone glides into her vision, whirring softly as it passes less than fifty feet away. It weaves towards Grace’s crouched position, spotlight swirling from place to place, and the hair rises on the back of Anissa’s neck. 

“Don’t do it,” warns Jen. “I’ll come down there.”

“If that thing sees either of you, this place’ll be swarming with ASA in minutes,” adds Gambi

“Well, I’m not letting them get Grace,” Anissa growls back. She checks that the leopard is in place one more time, says a prayer for her to not flee, and then rips the night vision goggles off her face. Her eyes adjust quickly, but the drone is nearing Grace’s hiding spot, and she’s out of time. 

Pushing off the wall, Anissa breaks into a sprint, controlling her breathing as she kicks off the ground, landing on top of a rotting crate that nearly cracks in two, but holds up just enough for her to jump again, launching herself at the drone with one arm pulled back, ready to deliver a strike—but she never gets the chance. 

There’s a streak of gold across her vision, and then a sickening, metallic crash. Anissa lands on the concrete and turns to see the big cat on top of the drone, snarling while built-in guns unload into spotted fur, even as the leopard rips wires and chunks of motherboard out of the machine. It sparks, whines and crackles, then goes dark, and Anissa rushes forward while Jen and Gambi yell unintelligible things in her earpiece. She turns the thing off and rips her mask free. It doesn’t matter, and she needs Grace to see her face. 

Anissa skids to a stop when the big cat’s head whips around, amber eyes meeting hers. The leopard’s body whirls next, backing up a few paces, and she bares her teeth. 

“Grace, I know you’re in there,” calls Anissa, holding out her empty palms for the cat to see she’s unarmed and shuffling forward, cautious, keeping her body low. “I know you recognize me.”

Now that the shapeshifter is facing her, Anissa can see the blood staining her fur dark, dripping to the ground from her chin and belly. Though Grace had taken and delivered punches that would break human bones in their fight back at her foster brother’s apartment, the leopard apparently isn’t bulletproof. The thought makes Anissa’s stomach twist with fear and a hypercharged version of the dull ache that’s lived in her soul since losing Grace to the wind. 

“Let me help you,” she continues, desperate, but her feet stick in place when the leopard snarls. “Please, Grace, I—“

A flash of orange light makes both of them turn, and Anissa’s heart sinks when she sees Jen touch down behind her, already chewing her out, “Anissa, what the Hell are you thinking? Turning off your comm?”

“Jen, get out of here,  _ right now,” _ says the older Pierce in an even tone, hoping not to escalate the situation further. 

“The ASA are going to figure out that one of their drones is down, and we  _ cannot _ be here when they come look…” Jen trails off when her eyes set on the agitated leopard, which had stalked closer to her while she had been focusing on her sister.

“Grace,  _ please _ calm down,” calls Anissa, and she wants to wince at the panic she can hear in her own voice. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

The next few seconds make a liar of her. Grace pounces, launching herself at Jen with snapping jaws. Her sister reels back, avoiding those teeth, then connects a solid, electrified punch against the cat’s ribs, hard enough that the leopard yowls and pushes away from her to regain her footing.

Before they can tangle again, Anissa slams a fist into the ground. It’s loud, and it’s risky, but her “sneaky” plan is shot already, and it’s better than letting her sister and her ex-girlfriend tear each other apart. The shockwave knocks them both off-balance enough that Anissa has time to leap between them, and to her relief, Jen  _ and _ the leopard halt their attacks, instead just staring at her and breathing hard. 

“Jen,  _ get _ out of here,” says Anissa firmly, summoning every ounce of her big sister tone. “If you see agents coming, hold them off for just a few seconds.  _ Please, _ Jen. I need you to trust me right now. Please.”

Jen studies her for what seems like a long time, but is probably just seconds, and then sighs. “You have five minutes. Gambi’s been freaking out in my ear this whole time.”

After Anissa gives her a grateful nod, Jen flies away, a small sun in her own right as she floats out of view. 

The departure seems to put Grace at slight ease, or else she’s so injured that the leopard  _ needs _ to sit, because the feline mouth is still curled back to show gleaming white teeth as her back legs fold. Anissa hopes it’s the former as she moves closer, arms out again, sucking in a breath. Enough of this. 

“Grace, I know you think that I’ll reject you, or you’ll hurt me, but I also know that neither of those things are true,” she says, not stopping this time when a sharp warning growl crackles through the air.

The leopard swipes at her once, twice, and though her bulletproof skin isn’t harmed, her Blackbird outfit rips to shreds as easily as linen paper under a blade. The big cat keeps backing up, though, stumbling over debris and rubble, ears pressed flat against her skull.

“I don’t care that you’re a leopard, or an old man, or a shapeshifter,” she presses on, crowding Grace into a corner between a fence and a building. The attacks land more violently now, and her skin holds, but she can  _ feel _ the sharp force of the claws desperately attempting to get her to stop. “I  _ love _ you.” 

Finally, the cat’s back legs hit the brick wall, and there’s no room left. Nowhere else to run. Anissa lets the leopard slam its paws into her, unyielding, never taking her eyes off Grace’s. She can see her in there, under all the frenzied fear, and Anissa waits for the big cat to rear up for another strike, but this time she catches the swinging paws in her hands, holding them there. 

“You are  _ not _ gonna run me off,” Anissa continues, somewhat strained under the combination of controlling her breath and fighting the fellow meta’s superstrength. “I love you, Grace, and I  _ want _ to be with you. Only you.” 

She lets go and steps forward in one movement, wrapping her arms around the leopard’s ribs and holding tight, preventing those long teeth and claws from reaching her. Grace struggles, growling and snapping her jaws, but Anissa’s been training up her superstrength for a long time, and she can feel weakening in the muscles fighting against hers. 

“Let me help you. I  _ miss _ you, Grace,” she says into soft fur, heat pulling at the back of her eyes. “Please, come back to me.” 

The leopard stops growling, instead letting out a low, piteous rumble, and relaxes.

Anissa lets the tears fall, but doesn’t yet completely give over to the hope that she’s broken through the haze. “No more running, baby.”

A sensation like static crawls across her skin where it touches Grace, and she realizes that it leaves behind a smaller form, and the plush fur under her nose transforms into silky hair. She opens her eyes and pulls her head back just in time to see the last flecks of glowing gold leave Grace’s eyes.  _ Grace’s _ eyes, the ones she knows so well, though reddened and ringed with dark circles. 

“Anissa,” she whimpers, shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I got you.” Anissa’s voice is a croak, and she has to clear her throat a few times. Knowing that Grace was under that leopard and  _ seeing _ her in the human flesh… Anissa’s throat is dry as a desert even as tears slip down her cheeks, her heart hammering away in her chest. “Are you hurt?”

“I’ll live. I just need to rest and heal.” Despite the words, Grace is leaning her whole weight against Anissa, and Thunder holds her out to examine for herself. The bullets are already working their way back out of their drying entry wounds, small caliber, but there’s about a dozen of them. 

“Let’s get you someplace safe,” says Anissa, reattaching her mask and earpiece. “Uncle Gambi, I’ll take your complaints later, but right now, I’ve got Grace, and I’m taking her home.”

After a heavy, awkward pause, the old man answers brusquely, “Fine. But you should hurry. ASA just reported the offline drone over the radio.”

“Jen, you good?”

“Text me when you’re home safe,” is all Jen says in reply, before Anissa sees an orange glow rise and rocket away in the distance. Without further ado, Anissa hooks one arm under Grace’s knees and picks her up. She feels worryingly light, even for Thunder’s superhuman strength. 

By some mercy and Gambi’s help avoiding patrols, they make it back to Anissa’s loft without incident, and it feels as though the weight of the city falls off her shoulders when her door shuts behind them. 

Her medical school training kicks in as she carries Grace to the bathroom, setting her gently on the toilet lid and turning on the faucet to fill her bathtub. Grace is completely quiet, nodding or shaking her head  _ yes _ and  _ no _ as Anissa asks her about possible injuries, and then asks for permission as she removes the blood and dirt-caked clothing from the shapeshifter. 

Most of the bullets have fallen out by now, with angry red skin covering the wounds, and Anissa checks the water temperature before helping Grace into the bath. The water immediately tinges red, but Anissa tries not to think about that as she uses a washcloth to clean Grace’s scarred and tattooed skin. The only sound in the small bathroom is gentle splashing, and Grace almost seems asleep by the time Anissa helps her back out of the bath and wraps a plush towel over her shoulders. 

“I have, um, some shorts and shirt if you want them, to sleep?” Anissa prods, eyeballing Grace’s pile of clothes. “I’ll wash these for you.”

“Yeah. Thank you.” The response is quiet, but it’s something, and Anissa leads Grace to her bedroom at the top of the loft, assuring her that it’s all right to sit on the comforter while Anissa digs out clothes. She retrieves her softest Garfield High School shirt and a pair of silk shorts, handing them to Grace and turning to change out of her own tattered outfit. 

She suspects Grace has been through a lot since they last saw each other, and though every cell in her body wants to tell the stubborn woman exactly how much leaving hurt her, wants to demand answers and truth… Anissa knows what the shapeshifter needs right now is sturdy support and a safe place to lay her head. She can do that. The rest, they can figure out later, because despite the anger and pain, Anissa is still every bit in love with Grace Choi, and having her back feels like a cleansing fire, overwhelming and freeing at the same time.

When she turns back around, wearing a sleep shirt and shorts of her own, Grace is standing awkwardly near the head of her bed. 

“I can sleep downstairs,” says Anissa quickly, gently. “I think you need the bed more than I do.”

“Anissa, I—“

“We can talk about this in the morning, really—“

“No, no,” Grace insists, shaking her head. “I… I just need to know. Did you mean what you said, out there?”

“When I said what?”

The shapeshifter looks down at her feet, swaying slightly, and sniffles before looking back up. “About… how you feel. About me. Are you sure?”

_ Oh. _ Anissa moves slowly around the bed, stopping in front of Grace and meeting her eyes. “About loving you?” She gets a semi-petulant shrug in response, and it’s so very  _ Grace _ that Anissa can’t help but smile. “I meant every word. I love you, Grace Choi. I want to  _ be _ with you, to help you, if you’ll have me. I’m with you. You know that.”

Grace swallows thickly, tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes, and she steps into Anissa’s arms, resting their foreheads together as she replies, “Of course I want you with me. I love you, too. And I’m  _ so _ sorry for leaving. I’m so sorry.”

In lieu of a response, Anissa tilts her head up, pressing her lips to Grace’s for the first time in what feels like decades—and to her relief, Grace kisses her back without hesitation, sighing deeply, the sound matching the soul-deep peace Anissa feels at having her love back in her arms.

They’re both truly and wholly exhausted, so after Anissa sends Jen a belated text and turns off the downstairs lights, they crawl under the covers on her bed. Grace settles on her side, and Anissa curls behind her, pressing one last goodnight kiss to her shoulder. She hears the shapeshifter’s breathing even out and slow before long, and Anissa lets her own eyes slip closed.

Freeland may be crumbling around them, the world devolving into chaos that would take monumental effort to undo—but she wouldn’t deny herself this moment’s peace, warm and safe with Grace. And tomorrow, they would face that uncertain future together, confident in one thing, at least: Their love for each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on tumblr [@trashyeggroll](https://trashyeggroll.tumblr.com/)


End file.
